A Moral Question

#16
I have a friend who is a chain smoker. She has absolutley no idea her house, herself, and her stuff reeks of smoke. I think you become used to it or your sense of smell is ruined. She sold a purse one ebay a few years ago and got bad feedback for smoke smell. She was so shocked. She said she kept her bag in a smoke free room. They don't realize that once you've smoked 1 million cigarettes in that house that every thing in it smells like an ashtray.

I've also had bags sent to me that had odd smells but I never made a "stink" about it. A little Fabreeze and some fresh air took care of it. But if a person smokes constantly or has smokers in her house, they aren't going to fair well on ebay. Obvious smells have to be documented even if you can't smell them.
 
#17
Hi there!

That's too bad you received a "smokey" bag. I can relate to your dilemma. I am very sensitve to odors and I recently purchased two bags from Bag Borrow or Steal. One was perfect and the other was obviously rented by a smoker for a period of time. Someone had spritzed it with perfume or Febreeze to try to help with the odor. I would not recommend doing that because the two smells combined make for a heinous odor. I sent it back and was refunded my money.

You might take it to a leather repair or a shoe repair shop, as they may have some ideas how to treat the odor. No joke, but maybe they will let you store it there for a month or so, so it starts to get back some of the leather like smell?

Good luck with what your decision.
 
#18
dsrk said:
I don't know if this is a moral quandary as much as a debatable topic of subjective ethical practices.

First off, I don't sell any handbags. I probably should, although I don't. I keep them unused or gift them to those of whom I know will appreciate them.

Sellers can place whatever disclaimers they want, as it is up to the buyer to beware: caveat emptor

The buyer doesn't have to buy, and if the buyer chooses to do so, the buyer should make thorough inquiries as well as state their expectations clearly in advance of purchasing.

The buyer should also keep all (email) correspondence to clarify what the buyer asked and how the seller responded. If the bag is NOT what the seller stated in the description and/or (email) correspondence, and the seller uses the US Postal Service to send the merchandise to the possibly unsuspecting buyer, then the buyer can lodge a formal complaint against said seller for fraud (via the USPS).

So, for me, it's not so much about a seller pulling the wool over the eyes of potential buyers, it's about the buyer taking personal responsibility in what s/he chooses to buy, as well as from whom, and -- in addition to other forms of recourse (e.g., eBay, PayPal, credit card company, USPO, etc.).
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It is a moral issue. Lying is immoral ('Thou shalt not bear false witness...' [most established religions have the equivalent teaching]).

In law, it is called fraud and is illegal.

It is the seller's responsibility to tell the truth about condition and if they don't, they are being both unethical and immoral and are also breaking the law.

Of course, if they just omit the information, that is perhaps more of a grey area, morally speaking. But, legally, they are still obliged to disclose any and all information on condition and if they don't, they are obliged to refund.
 
#21
I'm making a concerted effort to NOT buy expensive bags in the future when you figure that if you invested the money long term, it would really end up costing you over $2,000-3,000, but with most, I'd let 'em go at a garage sale. If you have good stuff and advertise accordingly, you'll get people willing to pay a lot more.
 
#22
are you kidding me? I seen some merchandise on ebay of shoes that have had years and years of use. Plus, there would be bids on them!

some people just love to buy second hand things I guess
 
#23
titania029 said:
That's unfortunate! If that happens again, I think you can file SNAD. Smoke smell should be revealed. And also if you do a quick search on the forum, there are ways to get rid of/reduce the smell.
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I am a non-smoker and even live in a neighborhood where no one smokes. I sent a doll to a woman who left feedback saying it should have been revealed that the doll smelled of smoke. (I certainly never caught the doll smoking)

Sometimes the item (a purse would more quickly pick up odors than a doll) gets odors the seller has no control over. Say the USPS delivery person smokes in their truck. You can't reveal what you don't know.
 
#24
I really do not believe that a handbag in a box in a truck could absorb that kind of smoke odor. I really think it has to be exposed in the open to the smoke (for a period of time)for the leather to absorb the odor. My thing is if a Seller knows it smells and puts it in a box and sends it to you without disclosure that is wrong in any situation.
 
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